Nothing Short of a Fatal Mismatch

A Cessna 140 proved to be a goose among swans in a flock of dedicated STOL.

Wednesday, September 11, 2024 at 08:59 AM ET

Verified

The NTSB blamed a STOL Drag accident in 2022 on the pilot's obvious 'exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack.' [Leonardo Correa Luna]

Key Takeaways:

During an impromptu STOL landing contest, a Cessna 140 pilot tragically died in a low-altitude stall-spin accident.
The NTSB determined the accident resulted from the pilot exceeding the airplane’s critical angle of attack, primarily due to failing to deploy flaps on the final approach.
A competitive environment likely influenced the pilot to maintain spacing by flying too slow in an aircraft less suited for extreme STOL performance, rather than opting for a safer go-around.

See a mistake? Contact us.

In May 2022, a STOL Drag event took place at Wayne Municipal Airport/Stan Morris Field, (KLCG) in Nebraska. Training for novices would begin on Thursday and continue into Friday. Qualifying heats would be on Friday afternoon, and the races would continue through the weekend.

The contest, which typically occurs on grass or dirt areas parallel to paved runways, was to take place alongside Runway 5-23.

Peter Garrison

Peter Garrison taught himself to use a slide rule and tin snips, built an airplane in his backyard, and flew it to Japan. He began contributing to FLYING in 1968, and he continues to share his columns, ""Technicalities"" and ""Aftermath,"" with FLYING readers.